The Arizona Cardinals could cut Kevin Kolb, who signed a six-year, $62 million deal after he was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011. Kolb became of target of many teams after some solid performances in 2010, most notably an October win over the Atlanta Falcons in which he completed 23 of 29 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
Kolb was ordinary before that breakout performance and significantly worse after it, and appeared to be a risky person to hitch a franchise to. Arizona did not have those concerns, though, and traded cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round pick for Kolb, then signed him to his massive extension that guaranteed $20 million.
His Cardinals' career has been marred by injuries and ineffectiveness. He has compiled a 6-8 record in Arizona, playing in just 14 games over two seasons, and he has been benched twice in favor of John Skelton, an unheralded prospect out of Fordham. Kolb is due $11.5 million next season, and the Cardinals have one of the league's worst passing attacks. Last season, star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald set career lows in catches (71) and touchdowns (four), while his 798 receiving yards topped only his rookie season total of 780.
The Cardinals were 28th in the NFL in passing yards (3,005), 31st in passing touchdowns (11), and threw the most interceptions (21). Their quarterbacks were also sacked 58 times, most in the league, and had the worst quarterback rating in the NFL at 63.1. The Cardinals were rumored to be in the hunt for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, who was eventually shipped to the Kansas City Chiefs, who were the Cardinals' top rival in cellar-dwelling.
Releasing Kolb would free up $7.5 million of cap space for Arizona to find a new signal-caller or shore up their running game. With Joe Flacco and Michael Vick already re-signing with the Ravens and Eagles, the top quarterbacks on the market are Matt Moore and Jason Campbell. The Cardinals will likely select a quarterback at some point in the upcoming draft.
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